Improvement in air-and-gas engines



' J. F. HASKINS.

Air and Gas Engines.

Patented July1'6,1 872.

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UNITED STATES JOHN F. HASKINS, OF FITGHBURG, MASSACHUSETTS.

IMPROVEMENT IN AIR-AND-GAS ENGINES.:

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No. 129,337, dated July 16,1872.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, JOHN F. HAsxiNs, of

Fitchburg, in the county of Worcester and State of Massachusetts, haveinvented an Improvement in En gines; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing, taken in connection with the drawing which accompanies andforms part of this specification, is a description of my inventionsufficient to enable those skilled in the art to practice it.

My invention relates to that class of engines in which the motive poweris produced by the use of steam or vapor of water and of a vapor evolvedfrom a highly-volatile liquid heated by the exhaust from the engine orthe direct steam from the boiler. Heretofore, in obtaining motive powerby thus twice using the steam-first by its direct expansion and next byusing the same steam to heat and vaporize the volatile liquidit has beencustomary to use two engines, working the first by the direct steam fromthe water-boiler, and working the second by avapor generated by theaction of the exhaust steam of the first to heat and vaporize a volatileliquid contained in a separate boiler. In my invention I make atrunkengine and drive thepiston by employing on one side of it the steamfrom the Water-boiler, and upon the other side of it the steam or vaporfrom the volatile liquid heated and vaporized by the exhaust steam; andmy invention consists in this new method of working an engine, or in atrunk or upright engine the cylinder of which has its two parts onopposite sides of the piston connected by suitable valvechests andpipes, the one with a common steamboiler heated and making steam in theordinary manner, and the other with a boiler connected with and heatedby the exhaust steam of the rst, and containing a highly-volatileliquid, from which the exhaust steam evolves avapor having a pressureequal to or exceeding the pressure of the direct steam.

In practice I prefer to use an engine sub-` stantially like that showninv the drawing, which represents the engine in sectional elevation.

a denotes the cylinder, upright in position, standing upon a suitablebase or bed-plate. b is the piston, the upper surface c of which has anarea or pressure-surface much less than the area or pressure-surface dof the under side thereof, the area being preferably about half the areaof the under surface. e denotes the upper part and j' the lower part ofthe cylinder, and the part e connects with a steam-passage leading tothe steam-boiler, said passage being controlled by a slide-valve on arod, g, worked by an eccentric on a shaft, h, a crank- Wheel upon whichshaft is jointed to the connectin g-rod i of the piston. The lower partf connects with a vapor-passage controlled by another valve on the rodg, the upper or steam passage leading from an ordinary steam-boiler, andthe lower or vapor passage leading from the boiler containing thevolatile liquid, and by action ofthe valves the passages are alternatelyopened, so that the piston is reciprocated by the alternate andoppositely-applied pressure of two vapors-one the vapor of water and theother the vapor of a iluid Which is vaporized at a temperature below2120 Fahrenheit-the steam and other vapor being both used at eachrevolution of the shaft to produce the complete reciprocation of thepiston. One eccentric is used. to actuate both valves, and one governorcan be used to control the ingress of' both uids.

In this way a very economical-working engine may be produced, and anengine which is simple and inexpensive in construction.

I claim- An engine constructed substantially as shown and described, andhaving its piston actuated by the pressure of ordinary steam upon oneside of it, and by the pressure upon its opposite side of a vaporgenerated from a highly-volatile liquid by means of the exhaust steam.

JOHN F. HASKINS.

Witnesses: a

FnANcIs L. HILLs, FRANCIS GoULD.

